“I’m still hungry on a keto diet!”

Does MCT oil help with weight loss? Why are you still hungry on keto? And can you get too high ketones?

Get the answers in this week’s Q&A with Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt:

MCT oil to help weight loss?

I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I’m 55, 5’3″ (160 cm) but 135 lbs (61 kg). Have been on strict keto diet for 3½ weeks. Not counting carbs but avoiding all foods not on the low-carb spectrum. No weight loss yet! Should I take MCT oil?

Marilyn

No. MCT oil does not help with weight loss. If you want to speed things up I recommend adding intermittent fasting instead. Bonus: it’s free.

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

Hungry on keto

I have been on the ketogenic diet for almost nine months. I eat between 120-140 grams of fat, 84 g protein and 20-25 g of net carbs per day. I’m very hungry! My weight loss has stalled so I have attempted to reduce to 100 g but feel soooooo hungry! I started supplementing with B5.

What could this hunger mean? Any tips?

Giulia

Hi Giulia!

Hard to say without knowing more, like your height and weight. For some reason, it seems like your body feels you’ve reached your ideal body weight and it does not want to lose more. So perhaps you have? Or, if definitely not the case, there may be other hormonal issues involved. Also – if applicable – remember that women 40+ sometimes may have to accept that they don’t have the same body weight as when they were younger, for hormonal reasons. The alternative can be a need for starvation that is rarely sustainable or empowering.

Is it possible to have your ketones go too high by IF and a keto diet?

I recently lost 40 lbs (18 kg) on keto and then it stalled out and now I am gaining weight doing the same keto diet. My ketones are consistently around 2.0. When I did three 24-hour fasting days consecutively, the ketones hit 4.9. Now I have gained 8 lbs (4 kg) back eating three times a day. Please help me figure this out. My blood work has been amazingly good, but I seem to still need insulin. What do I do? Do I fast?

Ron

Hi Ron!

As long as you feel fine, 4.9 in ketones should not be any cause for concern. Regarding fasting, we generally do not recommend fasting more than 24-48 hours. This can be highly effective and there is rarely a need for longer fasting than that.

Videos with Dr. Eenfeldt

Keto for beginners: Introduction08:02Learn how to do a keto diet right, in part 1 of our video course.

Keto for beginners: What to eat?11:22What do you eat on a keto diet? Get the answer in part 3 of the keto course.

Keto for beginners: How it works08:37How does a keto diet work? Learn all you need to know, in part 2 of the keto course.

Keto for beginners: 7 steps to ketosis05:57How to get into ketosis exactly.

Keto for beginners: weight loss06:24Dr. Eenfeldt explains everything you need to know about weight loss on a keto diet.

Keto for beginners: In ketosis?07:53There are two ways to know you're in ketosis. You can feel it or you can measure it. Here's how.

Keto video course, part 8: Health effects09:30Do you have some kind of health issue? Maybe you’re suffering from metabolic issues like type 2 diabetes or hypertension? Do you want to know what kind of health benefits you could have on a keto diet?

The 5 common mistakes on LCHF09:25Is it hard to reach your goal weight, are you hungry or do you feel bad? Make sure you're avoiding these mistakes.

How to eat LCHF11:18Dr. Eenfeldt on what you need to know to start eating a low-carb, high-fat diet.

A global food revolution34:30The mistakes behind the obesity epidemic and how we can fix them together, empowering people everywhere to revolutionize their health.

A Global Food Revolution39:01There’s a global food revolution going on. A paradigm shift in how we look at fat and sugar. Dr. Eenfeldt at Low Carb Vail 2016.

A global food revolution45:44Around the world, a billion people with obesity, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance could benefit from low carb. So how can we make low carb simple for a billion people?

Update from Sweden44:39People are revolutionizing their health with low-carb diets in Sweden.

A global food revolution48:15There’s a global food revolution going on. A paradigm shift in how we look at fat and sugar. Dr. Eenfeldt at the Low Carb USA 2016.

More with low-carb doctors

Tim Noakes on trial15:20In this mini documentary of the Tim Noakes trial, we learn what led up to the prosecution, what happened during the trial, and what it has been like since.

A low-carb story with Dr. Campbell Murdoch02:37How Dr. Cambell Murdoch found out that what he had been telling his patients with high triglycerides for the last 10 years was wrong.

Lies my doctor told me – presentation with Dr. Ken Berry59:27Dr. Ken Berry, MD, is a practicing family doctor located in the state of Tennesse. At the Low Carb Cruise in May 2018, he held an inspiring presentation based on his book Lies my doctor told me.

Kristie cooking keto with Dr. Georgia Ede27:09Kristie invites Dr. Georgia Ede into the kitchen, and has prepared a delicious recipe with consideration to Georgia's food allergies and sensitivities.

Who benefits from eating LCHF?05:59Who will gain the most benefits from eating LCHF – and why? Dr. Westman's LCHF course part 1.

The human body needs good saturated fats — Dr. Ken Berry12:22In part 2 of this interview with Dr. Ken Berry, MD, Andreas and Ken talk about some of the lies discussed in Ken's book Lies my doctor told me.

How to formulate a low-carb keto diet48:32Low-carb pioneer Dr. Eric Westman talks about how to formulate an LCHF diet, low carb for different medical conditions and common pitfalls among others.

"I make a difference every day"17:10Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt sits down with Dr. Evelyne Bourdua-Roy to talk about how she, as a doctor, is using low-carb as a treatment for her patients.

How to stay low carb on a budget — Dr. Catherine Crofts, PhD02:29In this video, Catherine Crofts, PhD, shares her best tips on how to get good quality food without spending too much money.

The perfect treatment for diabetes and weight loss45:20Do doctors treat type 2 diabetes completely wrong today – in a way that actually makes the disease worse?

Why more protein is better15:17Dr. Ted Naiman is one of the individuals who believes more protein is better and recommends a higher intake. He explains why in this interview.

Launching the Diet Doctor podcast14:49Bret Scher, medical doctor and cardiologist from San Diego teams up with Diet Doctor to launch a Diet Doctor podcast. Who is Dr. Bret Scher? Who is the podcast for? And what will it be about?

"We are not designed to be chronically ill"25:54

A global food revolution45:44Around the world, a billion people with obesity, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance could benefit from low carb. So how can we make low carb simple for a billion people?

Challenging the dogma16:47Dr. Priyanka Wali tried a ketogenic diet and felt great. After reviewing the science she started recommending it to patients.

How to help patients reverse type 2 diabetes27:43How exactly do you as a doctor help patients reverse their type 2 diabetes?

Can low carb make it fun to be a doctor?36:47Dr. Unwin about getting his patients off medications and making a true difference in their lives using low carb.

8 comments

I had a problem with still feeling hungry, even though I was in ketosis (per blood test by doctor). Not only was I hungry, but I was also having hypoglycemic episodes almost every morning. And I wasn't losing weight, nor was my A1c coming down. What I discovered is that I was eating WAY too much protein for my height and ideal weight -- probably twice to three times as much as I actually could utilize. When I moderated my protein intake to an amount appropriate for my height and ideal weight, I started feeling better immediately, and the weight/A1c came tumbling down.

Hi I was trying to lose weight with a Ket diet with not a lot of success until I dropped my carbs to zero and the weight has been coming off consistently. I do have a few leaves now and then but I find keeping my carbs really low my hunger is abated and I am satiated. Watch Dr Ted Naiman interview 'why more protein is better '. I'm 59 and this approach has worked really well for me .

Rosie, thank you for your advise, that maybe the way I have to go also. I am also 59, healthy and fit, 5.2" high and 144 pound when I began keto. I was vegan previously, on keto I eat eggs, fish and low carb dairy, low carb green vegetables, coconut oil or butter, cream in coffee. Was on keto for 4 months, lost 1.5 kg in the beginning then nothing for a month. Started HCG injection trough a weightless clinic and that helped me to louse an other 2 kg in two weeks. Continue with keto and zero weight loss. Fasted about 10 days with no result. After four moths I ended keto as I was filling ill, fisically and mentally. High exsaity, fast heart rate kept me up at night, week and tired physically, very stressed and inpatient with people. I felt my skin hanging from my face. Had blood test that showed high cholesterol level, low white blood cells and some other issues I am not familiar with. The symptoms I experienced are completely goes agains keto diet's supposed benefits.

Through my exhaustive trials and tribulations I have found that if you loose a substantial amount of weight your body wants to protect itself, so, you stop loosing weight. In time your body kind of goes hey, no crisis here and the weight starts to disappear again. Along with this I have also found that I will level off, and then gain weight (muscle increase), then loose weight. If I may, measure by physical size and scale not just scale.

As for the hunger, my experience has been, and continues to be, if Im getting hungry I was not eating enough fat or protein. I would find new was to increase the fat as much as I could while only increasing the protein modestly.

This always filled me up for hours and eventually was no longer needed as a boost. It is now Saturday or Sunday breakfast. Yes, it is a lot of dairy but I found that some time after removing breads and the like I had no issues with dairy.

Your comment on hunger I believe is wrong. To say "remember that women 40+ sometimes may have to accept that they don’t have the same body weight as when they were younger, " that's just negative. Maybe people have lost muscle mass but to say they need to basically settle. Wrong.